GUEST EDITORIAL: BTT to study juvenile tarpon habitats in Charlotte County to study juvenile tarpon habitats in Charlotte County

Our current focus is in Charlotte County, Florida, near the tarpon fishing capital of the world – Boca Grande. A VI uses GIS mapping data layers for nursery habitat sites overlaid with data on things like current and potential development locations, freshwater flows, and whether land is publicly or privately owned to categorize areas as high, medium or low vulnerability. For example, a nursery site classified as “natural” that falls under an area that the Charlotte County deemed as likely to be developed would rank as “high” in the VI. Conversely, a degraded nursery habitat with low potential for restoration that falls under an area in the county that is at low risk for development would rank as “low” in the VI.